After 22 hours of non-stop flying, including what was clearly a very arduous flight over the sea, it is not surprising to report that 09 made slow progress yesterday. By 10am this morning he was still in Western Sahara, having flown less than 50 miles since he made land on Saturday morning.

We had wondered how 09’s flight through the night and across the sea would affect him and, it is clear from the data the he was very tired yesterday. During the course of the morning, he made only stuttering progress north-west, stopping regularly as he struggled to recover from the exursions of the previous 24 hours. By 1pm he had flown just 30 miles and he made similarly slow progress during the early part of the afternoon. In fact he only continued migrating for another two hours; at 3pm he was perched beside a lake just 13 miles further north. If the lake has water in it – which can not be guaranteed in this part of the Sahara – it must have made a very welcome sight for 09. He remained just north of the lake for the rest of the day, moving a few hundred meteres to roost amongst spare vegetation. Let’s hope that he managed to catch a fish at some point during the evening.

09 beside lake in Western Sahara, 17-18 March

09's migration 17-18 March

At 10am this morning 09 was still at the lake, but I suspect that by the time the next batch of data comes in tomorrow, we’ll find that he has continued north. Watch this space!